


Waking from Death

by 2nerd4this



Series: beginnings and all that comes with them [3]
Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Insomnia, Intrusive Thoughts, aren't we all, kitty is sad, self doubt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:13:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26691232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2nerd4this/pseuds/2nerd4this
Summary: Katherine Howard spends her nights avoiding sleep, and when the others begin to notice, she has to reveal more about her previous life than she'd like.
Relationships: Katherine Howard & Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard & Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard & Catherine Parr, Katherine Howard & Catherine of Aragon, Katherine Howard & Jane Seymour
Series: beginnings and all that comes with them [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1724341
Comments: 18
Kudos: 80





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm excited to add another fic to this series! 
> 
> I have to say, this has been in the planning since I started this series, but I was not confident in my ability to write Kitty and do her justice. In all honesty, I'm still not, but I'll try my best. 
> 
> This chapter is pretty short, but I wanted to get it out there as motivation to myself to update later.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

The house that Katherine Howard had almost come to call home was quiet.

Not that she expected anything different. Unlike the castle, everyone retreated to their own room when night fell. It was quickly discovered that modern sleeping schedules and rituals were very different from their past lives, but they all adapted fairly easily. 

Whether they slept or not was a different story, but they tried to stay quiet, for the other’s sake. No one wanted to admit that they had difficulties sleeping, and even if they did, everyone assumed that everyone else was asleep. So they stayed in their room, alone and silent. 

That was what Kitty was doing now.

Every so often, she could hear Cathy shift on the other side of their shared wall, and she wondered if Catalina had had the talk about healthy sleep habits with her yet. The first Queen had brought it up hesitantly with the others, and when they confirmed her concerns, she volunteered to take on the task. Cathy’s sleep habits were worrying them all.

Though Kitty thought to herself, chuckling softly, she wasn’t really one to talk. Because here she was, long past midnight, and she hadn’t even considered sleep yet.

Not that she wasn’t tired- no, she was exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to sleep for hours on end. 

And, she reasoned, once she fell asleep, she was sure she would.

But that was just the problem. ‘Once she fell asleep.’ 

Falling asleep required stopping, lying down, and trying to relax. And that was just unrealistic. Whenever she tried to clear her mind, thousands of unwanted thoughts would rush in and overload her brain until she was near tears and she had no idea why. 

Thoughts about  _ him. _ And  _ him.  _ And  _ him _ and  _ him _ and  _ him _ and  _ her _ and  _ him _ and-

Thoughts about all the horrible things that could happen in this new life. Of all the things she could do to make this new family turn on her. Of all the little mistakes she was bound to make, she was only human, and all the different ways it could drive people away. Of all the new ways people can hurt her now.

There were a lot of ‘What-Ifs’ too.

_ What if they came back? _

_ What if she was too young, too annoying, too irresponsible, too immature for them? _

_ What if they decided to split up and she was all alone? _

_ What if they believed the accusations and threw her out? _

_ What if he- _

_ What if they- _

_ What if..... _

All of the sudden, Kitty sprang to her feet, slamming her closed fists against her thighs. 

_ Shut up, brain. _

Shaking her head, she began to pace, trying to force her mind to stop spiraling. Digging her fingernails into the skin of her arms, she desperately tried to ground herself.

It was getting worse. She hadn’t even been lying down this time. Usually, this happened well after she set her phone down, flicked off the lamp, and burrowed under the covers.

In the beginning, she had been able to cry herself to sleep. 

She misses that.

Now, all that helped was waiting until she was so tired that she practically passed out. If she was able to fall asleep soon after her head hit the pillow, there was no chance of these pesky little thoughts. 

And frankly- it sucked.

Kitty so desperately wished that she could just sleep. Life would be so much easier if she could just  _ go to sleep _ .

\---

Katherine doesn’t remember falling asleep.

She never does.

She remembers digging around on the bookshelf, trying to choose which unread book might distract her enough that she could stop panicking.

She doesn’t even remember what she chose.

But she had definitely fallen asleep because the sun had risen and there were footsteps from downstairs and her limbs were all achy.

Stretching, Kitty shifted in the chair and flinched a little as the book in her lap hit the floor with a thud. If she had more energy, she would flip it over and see what 2 am her thought was good enough to fall asleep to, but instead, she just stood and stepped over it, hoping to get downstairs before anyone could be worried.

They worried about her a lot. She thinks she should appreciate it- and she does, she really does- but the voice in the back of her mind always reminds her to never get too comfy

Still, that little voice only makes an appearance at night. 

That was why she liked the morning so much. So much time, so much input, so many people that she didn’t have to think about anything.

So, without any hesitation, Kitty slipped out the door and headed downstairs.

As always, she was one of the first to the kitchen, with just Jane and Aragon beating her to it. 

And, as always, they both looked up and smiled at her when she entered. She appreciated their kindness, she really really did, but she feels completely incapable of returning it. 

Still, she smiled softly back at them as she made her way to the refrigerator. 

By the time Anne came down, an hour later, she had situated herself in the armchair against the wall and was scrolling threw her phone. 

The noise that her cousin brought with her was a welcome distraction.

“Kitty! You’re awake!”

“Yeah, Annie,” Kitty chuckled, looking up from her phone and smirking. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to ask you,” Anne started, sliding around the coffee table and narrowly avoiding tripping over Jane’s legs, landing in the chair next to Kitty. Her voice stayed upbeat, but Kitty had spent enough time around her in these past few weeks that she knew when she was hiding something. “I came downstairs last night for a snack and I thought I heard someone moving around. That wouldn’t have been you, would it?”

“What?” Kitty asked, trying her best to stay casual. “No. I mean, I went to bed kind of late because I was reading a book, but... no. Nah, I’m fine.”

“Okay,” Anne said, nodding. She didn’t look completely convinced but didn’t press it. “Cause you know you can always come to me if you have a nightmare, right?”

Kitty hesitated, glancing down at her hands for a moment, before nodding slowly. “Yeah, I know. Thanks.”

“No problem, kiddo.” Anne smiled widely, clapping her hands together. “Now- Cleves and I were going to check out that restaurant a few blocks down that she found on the internet. You in?”

“Yes!” Kitty immediately brightened, sitting up straighter.

“Awesome. I’ll go hurry her up. Meet you back here in twenty?”

Kitty nodded and headed straight upstairs.

This was as good of a distraction as any. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally, FINALLY, updated one of my fics for the first time in MONTHS just in time as a Holiday Gift to y'all. It's VERY short but I'm hoping to finish this fic before the end of the year ('hoping' being the keyword there) because I finally figured out an ending! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

It had been a good day.

After the trip to the restaurant, the three returned to the house only to be met with a plan to visit a nearby park, where all six then spent the rest of the afternoon before coming home and having a nice movie night, complete with pizza and popcorn.

But no matter how good a day was, night always fell.

And when night fell, so did Kitty’s spirits. 

But, as always, there was nothing she can do about it, so she retreats to her room around two in the morning, after the last movie finished, and prepares for the same ordeal as always.

Barely an hour later, she was situated in the bed with the same book as last night, because obviously, it was boring enough to put her to sleep the first time.

She was barely past the first chapter, though, when a knock on her door shook her from her stupor. 

“Come in,” she muttered, not looking up from the book. It was mildly surprising that someone else was awake since everyone had been nearing exhaustion when the movies had ended, but Kitty didn’t have the energy to think too hard about it.

The door creaked open and the fifth Queen glanced up to see Cathy standing in the shadows, hair matted to her head and eyes dark with fatigue. Kitty immediately set the book aside, worried something was wrong, but when Cathy almost mirrored her expression exactly, she immediately frowned. 

“Cathy?”

“Hey, Kit-Kat,” Cathy said, though her serious tone contrasted the casual words. 

“What’s up?” Kitty tried to lighten the tone, but Cathy’s face did not change. In fact, it became even more serious.

“You.”

Katherine tilted her head in confusion at Cathy’s matter-of-fact tone as the woman crossed the room in two strides and sat in her desk chair across from her. 

“It’s almost four in the morning, Kit, and I know this isn’t the first time you’ve been up this late. Frankly- I’m worried.”

“Why?” the younger woman bit back before she could stop herself. Any self-control she would have had in a normal situation was marred by the total exhaustion and the abruptness of the topic.

“What?” Cathy asked, completely taken aback. She was clearly also very tired and had not planned for this turn in events.

“I mean- you’re clearly awake as well, and if you know I’m up so late other nights, then you must be too.”

“No, that’s different. I-”

“How?” Katherine cut her off, sitting up sharply and glaring at the smaller woman, who shrunk slightly under her harsh gaze.

“Just- I’ve always had trouble sleeping, plus I use the time better anyway. You clearly don’t want to be awake.”

“Yeah?” Kit challenged. “Says who?”   
  


“Kat.” Cathy’s eyebrows rose and her expression mirrored her godmother’s ‘I’m not going to answer such a foolish question’ face in a very uncanny way. 

“Okay- maybe I’d rather be asleep but there’s nothing I can do about it, trust me, and I’ve finally found a way to deal with it, so... just drop it, alright?”

“Katherine-” Cathy tried but was quickly cut off.

“I’ve known about your late-night escapades for a week now and haven’t said a word to the others because I know you can take care of yourself and don’t need a talking-to from Lina and Jane. I’d hope you’d do the same for me.”

“I don’t think-” she started again, but trailed off and sighed when Katherine raised a single eyebrow. “Fine.” She rose from her chair and started walking to the door, barely suppressing a yawn. “Just- try to get some sleep, please. I know how much insomnia can suck and I’d never wish that upon anyone.”

Kitty nodded slowly, relaxing back into her pillows. “Right. You too.”

Cathy gave a sharp nod before slipping back out the door and shutting it softly behind her, leaving Katherine alone once more with her thoughts. 

She appreciated her friend’s concern, she really did, but there was nothing she could do about it, so why worry the others? 

For a moment, she considered pulling her book back out, but she could feel her eyelids growing heavy and decided that maybe she could take a shot at falling asleep naturally for once in this life. 

Unfortunately, life would never be that kind.

As she began to drift off, she couldn’t stop the ever-present thoughts from pushing to the front of her mind.

_ You don’t deserve their worry.  _

_ They’d be better off without you. _

_ You and all your trauma. _

_ Your stupid, STUPID trauma that always gets in the way! _

Katherine’s eyes flew open as she tried to shake the thoughts from her head. Any chance of falling asleep smoothly had flown out the window and she huffed in defeat. 

She took a moment to rant to herself, clenching her fists in frustration as she reflected on the validity, or lack thereof, of her thoughts.

_ Stupid brain and your stupid thoughts and your stupid- whatever. _

Sitting up, the fifth Queen pulled her book out once more and resigned herself to another sleepless night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Happy Holidays!!!!! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all!! 
> 
> Do me a favor and read this note, because it's important to me and very relevant to this story. I'll try to keep it brief :)
> 
> I've had the idea for this story since April, because I was really, REALLY struggling to sleep at night and had been for a month or so. I was going through something akin to what Kitty is going through in this story (this is a very big case of me projecting) but I never actually got around to writing because it was too real for me.
> 
> As time went on, sleeping became easier and I no longer fell asleep at four in the morning because I had exhausted myself crying and panicking, so I decided to begin this story. It was sidelined, however, because I was still struggling and didn't see how I could help Kitty if I couldn't help myself.
> 
> HOWEVER- a few weeks ago, I began to find strategies to help me sleep and thought it was a perfect solution to finish this story. I'm SO happy to get this story over with because it's caused me more stress than it's worth (there's a lot of pressure to write good content for the fandom's favorite character when I struggle to write her) but I still hope you all like it.
> 
> Finally, I know I'm not the only one who struggles with this. Just because these strategies helped me (and Kitty and the Queens) doesn't mean they'll help anyone else, but I can still hope that maybe they'll help someone. Sleep is SO important, so take care of yourself, my friends <3

Early the next morning, Catherine Parr found herself unable to fall back asleep. 

Despite her atrocious sleep schedule in terms of falling asleep, she always managed to make up at least a small amount of time in the morning as she tended to sleep in for a few hours past what was normal for the Queens. 

This morning, though, she only managed to get a few hours in before her anxiety and concern for the youngest Queen became too much and she dragged herself out of bed before she even heard Jane moving around in the kitchen.

Taking a quick shower and throwing on a jumper, Cathy spent as much time as she could pondering her choices. 

While technically the girl had asked her not to tell the others, she had never agreed, and it was most definitely better for her in the long run to get the others involved. The only thing that was stopping her now were their reactions.

Clearly, Katherine would be upset with her, but she could deal with the girl’s anger when she knew that she was doing what was best for her. The others, on the other hand, were likely to shoot the messenger or point out the irony of the situation, neither of which she was looking forward to. 

Nevertheless, by the time she set out for the kitchen, she had resigned herself to doing what was necessary. 

Once she descended the steps to find her godmother and Jane conversing over their morning cup of tea, she was fully prepared to receive any backlash that may come her way for the sake of Kitty. 

“Catalina? Jane?” she said softly, staying a few steps away as she watched the two women look up. 

“Well good morning! What are you doing up so early?!” Jane quipped, smirking slightly. Catalina mirrored her expression, but with a slight tint of concern behind it. 

“Well... that’s exactly what I wanted to talk about,” Cathy said, quick to the point. The two women became serious immediately and Jane gestured to the chair across from her, which she quickly accepted. Lina stood and started the coffee maker, which Cathy smiled gratefully for, before grabbing a piece of toast and beginning to spread butter on it for her.

“Is something the matter?” Jane inquired, frowning in concern. Cathy hesitated, then shrugged halfheartedly.

“I mean... yeah. But,” she interjected quickly, as to not raise any unnecessary alarm, “it’s nothing to panic about. I’m just... worried about Kitty.”

“Oh.” Jane nodded, frowning again. “I am too, but I have a feeling you have a more specific reason than the rest of us.”

Cathy nodded, but before she could continue, Catalina handed her a plate of toast and a cup of warm coffee and said, “Before you go on, can I fetch Anne and Anna? They are in the backyard.” At Cathy’s questioning and surprised look, the first Queen quickly explained, “Anne wanted to go on a run with Anna, but it’s so foggy outside today that they just did a few exercises out there.”

“Oh, okay, yeah.”

“Thank you. I’ll be right back, mija.” 

When the eldest woman stuck her head out into the porch and beckoned outside, the two Queens entered shortly after, confused and sweaty.

Soon after, they had all gathered in the living room and were looking at Cathy expectantly. 

“So...” she began awkwardly, not at all eager to be the center of attention, “As you know, my room is next to Kitty’s...obviously...and I noticed recently that she... isn’t sleeping as much as she should.”

“Opposed to you, who gets the recommended number of hours of sleep?” Anne asked snarkily, smiling and watching her knowingly. The other women all nodded and Anne let out a sharp laugh, before composing herself again. Cathy blushed darkly and looked down at her hands, beginning to fidget restlessly with the hem of her shirt. 

“I mean... I guess... Sorry, I know it’s a little hypocritical of me to say-”

“Oh, Cathy love, don’t worry about that right now,” Jane interrupted, smiling sympathetically. “While that is a conversation that needs to be had, it can be reserved for a later time.”

“I’m sorry, Cathy, I was just joking. Please continue.” Anne smiled sheepishly, and Cathy nodded slowly.

“Right. Yeah, okay. Uhh.. I checked in on her last night at almost four in the morning and she didn’t look like she was even considering sleep. I’m not exactly sure why she’s struggling, but I’m worried, so I tried to talk to her but she got upset and asked me not to tell you.”

“Yet here you are,” Anna pointed out, all so helpfully. 

“Yeah... I decided that I couldn’t sleep at night- worse than I already do, of course- if I didn’t do something, and I felt you were better equipped than I am to talk to her, as evidenced by last night.”

“Understandable.” Catalina nodded sagely, looking over the third Queen next to her on the couch. “Jane and I can talk to her later tonight, if you’re alright with that?”

“Of course,” Jane nodded. “Thank you for telling us, Cathy. We’ll defend you if Kitty gets upset, but I’m sure she’ll understand.”

\---

It was nearly noon when Katherine Howard finally rolled out of bed, having fallen asleep just as the sun rose, slumped over against the headboard.

By the time she came downstairs, the others had set out lunch for her. When she sat down at the counter to eat, she felt eyes watching her from the living room, but didn’t want to honor Cathy by acknowledging her. She was sure the Queen was angry with her after last night, but had no desire to confront her.

Her day continued on as normal as she spent as much time with the others as she could to distract herself from her struggles. A few times, she felt someone watching her or caught a concerned glance her way, but decided to think nothing of it as it wasn’t that much out of the usual, especially when someone was acting out of the ordinary.

After dinner, though, she came to the realization that she couldn’t live like this forever. She had promised Cathy that she was more than capable of dealing with her sleep difficulties, so it was only reasonable that she try her best.

As such, she excused herself as smoothly as possible, though there were the inevitable confused looks and a few concerned questions that she brushed off as calmly as possible, though by the time she slipped up the stairs, both Jane and Lina were watching her go with clear worry on their faces.

She hated to cause unnecessary concern on her part, but there was nothing else she could do. The best solution was to deal with it on her own. So far, the exhaustion inducing was working in some form, but it took hours to accomplish, which was counterintuitive and made sleeping almost pointless in the long run.

So, to make up for it, she would try earlier tonight.

After a quick shower, Kitty changed into her comfiest night clothes and buried herself under the covers, bringing a book with her and resigning herself to another long evening.

Before long, though, she began to get frustrated. She wasn’t any closer to sleep than before she lay down and the book wasn’t helping as it should. Shutting it with a snap, she became determined to fall asleep and prove herself. 

She shut her eyes tightly and tried to take deep, even breaths in order to will her body to rest, but it was no use. The thoughts came, they always did, and there was nothing she could do about it.

This time, though, she tried to push them down, and it was almost successful, until she felt her breath catch and immediately panicked, sitting up to try and disrupt the train of impending thoughts that she could sense.

Shaking her head, she tried to clear her head, but to no success. She could feel the warning signs of an oncoming panic attack, but despite her best efforts, she couldn’t stop it.

As her breath quickened and her chest tightened, she let out a soft sob that was probably the long accumulation of exhaustion and despair. Her vision began to cloud over and the outside world faded away as she fell deeper into her thoughts. Just as she resigned herself to another sleepless night, though, the door creaked open and a form she could barely make through slipped through, quickly followed by another.

“Katherine?” A soft voice interjected the fog in her mind. “Kat, love, breath with me.” 

Katherine blinked a few times until her vision cleared and the third Queen came into view. She could tell that Jane was still speaking but she didn’t quite process it until Catalina, the other figure that had entered, slid smoothly onto the bed next to her and laid a careful hand on her blanketed leg.

“Are you with us? Kitty?”

“What? Oh- yeah, yeah, I’m here. Sorry, I just-”

“No, no, mija,” Catalina interrupted hastily, “Don’t apologize.”

“What are you doing in here? Weren’t you going to clean up dinner?”

“It’s almost nine o’clock, honey,” Jane hummed softly, sitting on her other side and wrapping an arm around her. “Did you get any sleep at all?”

“I- I don’t think so,” Kitty tried to remember, but the time between getting in bed and now was a blur. “I’m fine, though, it’s not that late.”

“Kitty, mija-” Catalina began, but broke off and glanced at Jane, who sighed. 

“Honey, we know you’ve been struggling to sleep and we want to help.”

“Cathy told you?!” Kitty exclaimed, though it was rather half-hearted. 

“Well, yes, but she did the right thing, and we noticed something was off anyway. Please don’t be upset with her, she was only trying to help.” 

“I- fine. But I don’t need help anyway. I can deal with it myself.” Kitty crossed her arms and tried very hard to not feel like she was pouting, but it was to little avail. 

“It’s understandable, you know. It only makes sense that you would have nightmares after such a jarring experience like reincarnation.” Jane smiled gently, trying to keep her voice soft. Kitty watched her carefully but found no signs of deceit. She then glanced at Lina, who she had never seen looking so gently, and sighed.

“It’s not nightmares. I’ve dealt with those all my life. It’s- it’s complicated.”

“Oh?” Jane tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. “Care to explain?”

“I-” Kitty hesitated. She had not been prepared for this sort of intervention and her brain was still operating as if she was on the verge of a panic attack. “I don’t know, I don’t exactly know how to talk to people about this. It’s kind of a... ‘me’ issue.”

“Try us,” Catalina said, smirking softly. “I promise we would never,  _ ever _ judge you for struggling with something, no matter how stupid it may seem, and we really want to help in any way that we can.” Jane nodded in agreement with the older Queen as she spoke.

“We care about you, Katherine. Please let us help you, love. Everyone’s concerned and you’d be doing  _ us _ a favor to talk about it. 

Katherine glanced between the two women that she was just beginning to see as family and sighed. Any logical decision eluded her as the weeks of exhaustion and stress began to finally tip over the edge, the trauma and pain along with it. 

-

Before she could stop herself, everything seemed to spill out of her. The men, the cold night alone in the Tower, the touching, the horror, all the horrible thoughts that plagued her mind at night. Whether or not it made any logical sense to the women that were listening was unknown, but they stayed quiet as she spoke, both keeping a comforting hand on a limb.

When she had finally finished, out of tears to cry and words to say, there was a moment of silence, before she felt Jane’s warm embrace and heard Catalina’s soft sigh. 

“Oh, mija... oh, pobrecita, I’m so sorry.” Catalina sounded genuinely hurt by what she had heard and Kitty sniffled slightly, allowing herself to relax into the third Queen’s arms. “I know I don’t have any idea what you went through five hundred years ago, but I will say this- the sleepless nights plagued by thoughts that would never allow you a moment of peace? Those I do know.”

“Really?” Kitty asked in surprise, peering up at her. Lina nodded sadly.

“I spent a lot of time alone with no company but my thoughts, so I struggled a lot to find a way to allow my mind to calm down and my body to rest. It’s the absolute worst, especially when you have no idea how to stop it.”

“Did you- do you-” Kitty stuttered, unable to voice her thoughts, but Catalina just smiled and nodded.

“I have, in fact, found a method that has helped me. It took a lot of work, but I can explain it to you if you want.” 

Kitty nodded as eagerly as she could in her worn state, and Catalina smiled.

“I made a rule for myself: the minute I hear my brain thinking about anything that could potentially lead to a spiral, I shut it off. It doesn’t always work the way I want it to, but if I can keep my thoughts at night positive and unrelated to real world events, it allows me to detach from anything negative I could think of. Does that make sense?”   
  


Katherine pondered for a moment, then nodded slowly.

“Good.” The first Queen smiled widely, looking very proud of this response. “It’s so difficult, but I think it may be able to help, even just a little. Alright?”

“I’ll try my best.” 

“That’s all I can ask.”

The three sat in silence for a few more moments before Jane hummed thoughtfully.

“I never thought of it this way, but I found recently that when I get distracted by my thoughts, listening to white noise like a recording of a rainstorm or a river helped.”

“A recording?” Kitty looked up curiously. “Like the sound?”

“Yeah!” Jane looked incredibly proud of herself, which made Kitty smile. “I can send you the- the, uhhhh, the app, I think. Anne helped me download it.”

“Thanks” Kitty mumbled, slightly sheepishly. “I’m sorry for loading all that stuff onto you guys. It’s just...”

“We understand, Kitty. It’s alright.” Jane shook her head softly, turning so she could help the younger Queen to lay down comfortably again. “That’s what we’re here for.”

“Will you be able to sleep?” Catalina asked, looking down at the girl. Kitty nodded hesitantly.   
  


“I think so. I appreciate the advice.”

“Would it-” Jane started, then glanced at Lina, who nodded in encouragement. “Would it be alright if we slept in here with you tonight?”

Kitty glanced between the two women, taking in their earnest expressions, then nodded. Jane lit up immediately before laying down next to her. Catalina smiled softly and situated herself in the armchair against the wall, pulling a spare blanket over her and curling up oddly on one side.

When Jane pulled out her phone moments later, the soft patter of rain began to echo through the room, providing a comfortable blanket of sound to envelop the women as they drifted off, and for the first time since her death, Kitty fell asleep without difficulty, surrounded by part of the new family she was forming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you SO much for reading! 
> 
> I've gotten a lot better with my sleep habits because of the strategies I've found, so I hope anyone who's struggling with it can find something too. Once again- take care of yourself <3 <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
